Name: Sharon Helsley-McGinley
Title: Clinical associate professor
Department: Nursing
Education: Master’s degree in nursing from UT Health Science Center in Houston
Hometown: Port Isabel
Family: Two daughters: Shannon, a UTRGV student, and Sheldan McGinley, a Texas Southmost College student
How long have you been a professor with the UT System? “I was hired in 1993 at what was then UTB/TSC and when we divided the two schools, I went with UTB in 2013 and worked for them for two years and was fortunate enough when UTB and UT Pan Am came together to create UTRGV, to hire on and work with them. So, I’ve worked 24 years with the UT System.”
What made you pursue teaching? “When I first came to the Valley, I was surprised that there was a lot of traveling nurses and sponsorship nurses from other countries and other parts of the United States. Very few local individuals and, so, I felt like we needed to facilitate, have some homegrown nurses who have some pride about nursing and the residents. So, that motivated me to want to teach and I happened to meet a mentor, Dr. Edna Garza-Escobedo, who’s a well-known local nurse who recruited me and told me, ‘Just try it on, for one semester,’ and here I am 24 years later.”
What brought you to UTRGV? “Well, I think that there were other options with teaching nursing, but it sounded like there were some exciting things that were going to be happening with UTRGV and I wanted to be a part of that.”
What do you do for your students? “The main goal that we have when we teach nursing is to help them prepare for the licensing exam, which is called the NCLEX-RN. And so, what I do is help through teaching leadership and med surg to help prepare them for that through a clinical aspect.”
What classes do you teach? “Well, currently I have been fortunate enough to teach med surg, leadership and some RN to BSN completion programs, which are some mobility courses.”
What are the goals you most want to accomplish in your work? “I think that, for me, what I would like to do is to have the ability to have students be able to graduate and pass their NCLEX and, hopefully, continue with their academic journey. So, the goals in my work are to keep those students motivated to want to continue on to a higher education because the more nurses we have locally that do that, the more intact the health care system comes to be, and, maybe, inspiring them to go on and do research or publishing and things of that nature.”
What was the last book you read? “I like biographies and I have a tendency to read several at one time, so I’m actually in the middle of two or three of them right now, but I love reading the concept of leadership that inspires people to excel and to put their mark on history.”
What do you like to do in your free time? “I’m so in love with the beach, anything that has to do with the beach, whether it’s searching for turtles or dolphins or watching the sunset or sunrise. Anything that has to do with the beach, that’s my thing. The other thing that I like to do is travel.”
What kind of music/artists do you like? “It depends on what I’m doing and what I’m inspired to want to, want to accomplish because if I’m studying, I like to listen to classical music. If I’m doing housework, domestic chores, I like to listen to Pitbull and some of the modern and more contemporary musicians. And then, if I’m on the road and I want to sing along, then I turn on some country. So, it depends on what I’m doing on what kind of music I like to listen to.”
What are a couple of fun facts about you? “I’ve been to almost all 50 states, but two; somehow I missed Oregon and I have yet to go to Alaska. So, I’ve done 48 of the 50 states, so that’s probably the most interesting thing about me. The other thing is that I’m the cliché. I love cats but I also love dogs, so I’m an animal lover as well.”
When you think of the future of nursing, what gives you a sense of hope? What makes you concerned or worried? “I think the thing that makes me worry is the fact that we’re changing so much with technology that we’re losing some components of nursing and we have to realign and keep focusing on the concepts of caring because I think as we get into technology, the fact of caring kind of goes by wayside. So, I’m very concerned that if we get too involved with taking care of the technology, we’re going to forget about taking care of the patient and that we’re going to lose that caring aspect. What I’m inspired about is also technology, because the information, we can always get the newest information out there at the touch of a finger, which is kind of nice in some way. So as much as what concerns me is also what gives me some comfort, is the technology.”
What advice would you give to students? “I think first of all, if you want to choose nursing as your career, be prepared to really work hard. I’ve seen some feedback from colleges across the country and nursing is supposed to be one of the hardest disciplines right now, one of the toughest ones to pursue. So, I would say keep your goal in mind. Always remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and the hard work will pay off.”
Would you like to add anything else? “I just want to say that it’s wonderful to be a student and be involved in education. There are so many opportunities right now here in the Rio Grande Valley and I think students do appreciate those opportunities and I would just say keep pursuing your dreams.”
–Compiled by Michelle Espinoza
